


DR CrossShip Week 2018

by MythGirl02



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, i had fun with these, just some cute fun works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2020-08-20 01:30:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20219551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythGirl02/pseuds/MythGirl02
Summary: My CrossShip Week contributions. Some fluff, some angst. Prompts: night [Chihiro x Chiaki], crying [Mukuro x Mikan], water park [Ibuki x Hina], kids [Miu x Souda], stargazing [Kaito x Peko], death [Sonia x Kyoko], and wedding [Tenko x Mahiru]





	1. Night (Chihiro x Chiaki)

Chihiro was nowhere near used to staying up past ten, but he could usually make an exception for Chiaki- until she decides to keep him up until one in the morning playing video games. That's where he drew the line.

"Chiaki…" He poked her cheek to take her attention away from their pokemon battle- which she was currently winning. "We have school tomorrow, I should go back to my room."

As he expected, she took a moment before answering, her eyes half-shut. "Alright. Want me to walk you there?" He appreciated the offer, of course, even though his room was only down the hall from hers.

"No, that's okay. Just make sure you get some sleep, got it?" He stood and took a moment to gather his courage before placing a quick kiss on her hairline. "Love you."

She hummed a bit before speaking, eyes still glued to her screen. "Love you, too."

Chihiro wasn't done, though. "And it's because I love you that I'm taking these." He plucked her Game Girl Advance out of her hands along with his own, a bit surprised when she didn't try to take it back. "You can get this back tomorrow morn- er, before classes. Right now, you're going to-"

He cut himself off, seeing that her head had already dropped onto her arms on the complete opposite side of her bed as her pillow, asleep. Her breathing was light as he smiled fondly and left the room to get his own beauty sleep.

As soon as the door was shut, however, Chiaki perked right back up, firing up her laptop with a small yet triumphant smile. "Who would've thought he'd forget about online gaming?" she muttered, logging into one of her favorite games. He meant well, and she knew that, but he didn't know that she functioned without sleep on a regular basis. Or, actually, maybe he did, considering she falls asleep at random times throughout the day. Either way, she was going to keep gaming until classes started, then sleep through those.

Who knew? Maybe one of these days she'd get Chihiro to pull a real all-nighter with her. But then again, they had all the time in the world.


	2. Crying (Mukuro x Mikan)

Mukuro would be the second to admit that she wasn't very good at socializing- second only because Junko usually beat her to the punch. She only ever hung around three people- Junko, Makoto, and Kiyotaka- and in every case, she was exceptionally silent and mostly stoic.

So imagine her surprise when she found herself comforting one of her upperclassmen, someone she barely knew.

It all started during her free period. All of the usual noises- Taka yelling at their classmates for doing things "unfit for the school environment," Mondo and Leon yelling back, Sayaka humming, Byakuya and Kyoko having heated debates, and the like- started to give her a headache, and that was without Junko talking her ear off. Not that she knew where Junko was at the moment anyway, which was rather odd.

Deciding she'd had enough, Mukuro walked out of the (barely supervised) classroom to get medicine from the nurse's office. Out of the corner of her eye, she almost thought she saw two pink streaks disappear around the corner before she pushed the door open. It was there where she found Mikan Tsumiki alone in the corner of the room, sobbing into her hands.

She almost abandoned the office to get medication from her upperclassman Seiko directly, but something stopped her immediately. "Mikan? Is everything okay?"

"Eep!" Mikan jumped up to her feet at the sudden noise, eyes wide and startled. "I-I-I-" Her breaths were ragged as she pushed her back against the wall. "No." She averted her gaze as she wiped her eyes furiously with the backs of her hands, trying to get rid of the tears.

Mukuro was completely torn between leaving or staying, but something possessed her body to step forward a bit. "Tell me what's wrong."

Mikan shook her head furiously. "No, i-i-it's not your p-problem. I d-d-deserved it anyway." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I don't know w-why I reacted like that."

"If you aren't going to tell me _what_, at least tell me _who_," Mukuro said, crossing her arms. As part of the Disciplinary Committee (even if she was the only member other than Taka), it was her duty to attempt to eliminate any and all bullying on school grounds. And anyone who's known her for more than a day kows she takes her duties seriously.

Mikan looked at her, but didn't speak. "You have a headache, don't you? I can tell by the look on your face. Take a seat, I'll get you some water and medicine."

"Thank you." Mukuro did as she was told, almost surprised at Mikan's observations before she recalled that she was, in fact, the Ultimate Nurse. "My name is-"

"Mukuro Ikusaba. I know," Mikan interrupted, opening a cabinet and taking out a bottle of water. "Your s-sister talks about you a lot." Her voice got a bit tight at her mention of Junko, and that's when Mukuro began to piece everything together.

She crossed her legs at the ankles and sighed. "I don't mean to pry, but if Junko is bullying you, you have to tell me so I can get her to stop." Mikan froze in her tracks, letting Mukuro know that her intuition was dead-on. "Don't worry, I can make sure she-"

"You can't." Mikan shook her head wildly, the rest of her trembling. "I-if she finds out I t-told you-"

Mukuro approached her calmly, grabbing Mikan's shaking hands with her own steady ones. "I won't let her get near you." She was deadly serious, staring into Mikan's admittedly cute eyes- wait, where did that come from? Something panged in her chest as she brought Mikan closer to her, a kind of euphoria she'd never experienced before rising in her. "Okay? Never hesitate to let me know if she's bothering you. I don't want to see you cry like that because of something I could've prevented."

She felt Mikan raise her hands so her fists rested against Mukuro's chest- and for someone so unused to physical contact as Mukuro, she found herself not wanting to pull away. She knew that Mikan was always kind and helpful to her classmates and didn't deserve to be treated badly. Mukuro wanted to keep her safe and happy in her arms forever. Even though this was her first major interaction with her, it crossed her mind that that was what it felt like to have a crush.

"Here." She slowly pulled away so Mikan was at arm's length. "How about we go to the cafeteria and get you something to eat, and we can talk there. I believe you're on free period too, right?"

"Yes." They started to walk out, Mukuro still holding Mikan's hand, when she stopped. "Wait, what about your headache?"

Mukuro turned a bit to face her, a small smile twitching at her lips. "Suddenly, it's gone."


	3. Water Park (Ibuki x Hina)

"WOOOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS AWESOOOOOOOOOOOME!" Ibuki was beside herself with glee as she raced down the waterslide with Hina in front of her, their two-person inner tube nearly flying over the sides during the turns. Hina was laughing, though most of it was stolen away in the wind. They barely had time to brace themselves before they crashed into the pool, water spraying over both of them.

"Let's do the lazy river next!" Hina exclaimed eagerly as they waded out of the pool and put their tube back on the rack. The water park had so many different water rides, making it Hina's favorite water park by default.

Ibuki nodded, though her smile dimmed a bit. "Ibuki thinks the lazy river sounds good," she said, but she didn't sound too enthusiastic about it, likely because of the name.

Hina grabbed her hand and started tugging her towards the entrance. "Come on, I promise you'll like it!" Ibuki's smile grew once again as she let herself be pulled along, both of them careful not to slip on the slick ground.

Since this ride only allowed single tubes, they went in separately but held hands to stay together. Not even a minute later Ibuki started talking about all of the other fun stuff they would be doing after while Hina nodded along, keeping on eye on the course ahead.

"Ibuki, think this is fun yet?" she asked, pulling Ibuki's tube a tiny bit closer to her own.

"Ibuki thinks that everything is fun with Hina-chan," she said, "but this is-"

Hina, seeing the prime opportunity, turned and kicked Ibuki's tube, sending her directly under a pout of water flowing off of a plastic umbrella while avoiding it herself.

"Waaaah! Ibuki's been betrayed!" she cried out, wiping the water out of her eyes.

Hina could barely contain her laughter. "Having more fun now?" Ibuki had abandoned her regular hairstyle for this trip, opting to leave it all down, but Hina could imagine how floppy her little horns would be.

Ibuki grinned devilishly, grabbing Hina's wrist. "Ibuki's gonna get you back for that, Hina-chan!" she shouted, slinging Hina's tube under the next water umbrella. Hina shrank into the center of her tube while she shrieked at the ice-cold water pouring over her. "Oh, Ibuki should write a song about this! It'll be called I Was Betrayed At The Lazy River But Then I Got Revenge!"

"Nice title, but I think you might have to adjust it!" Hina pushed onto Ibuki's tube with her foot, sending Ibuki into the line of waterspout fire, keeping her soaked the whole line through. How they were able to move at all through the lazy river when they kept doing stuff like this, neither had any idea.

Once she was out from under the streams, Ibuki began wringing out her dual-toned hair as they kept floating down the lazy river, no chances for them to get the other more wet during this stretch. "Should we call a truce?" Hina asked, still bubbling with laughter and reaching out for Ibuki's hand again.

"Hummmm… Okay!" She grabbed on, their fingers intertwining so neither could break away easily. "The lazy river isn't really lazy, yeah? It should have a better, more exciting name!"

Hina giggled, leaning her head back so her face was more exposed to the sun. "I told you you'd like it, didn't I?"

Ibuki nodded, kicking the water a bit. "Right again, Hina-chan!" Hina felt her arm being tugged lightly, and when she looked up, they were both headed towards the rushing waterfall. "Ibuki is dragging you down with her!"

Both girls shrieked as the water pelted them relentlessly for what felt like forever, giving them almost no time to breathe. "Ibuki, I can't believe you!" Hina sputtered in complaint, but her gigantic grin negated her statement. They slowly drifted towards the exit, still connected by their hands. "My hair is going to be completely tangled when we're done."

"Nuh-uh! At least your hair is in a ponytail, Ibuki's is down," she pointed out as they reached the steps. "Hm, what ride should we do next?"

Hina beamed, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Let's go again! I bet I can push you into the water more."

"Ooooooh, you're so on!" Ibuki shouted, already running (and pulling Hina with her) towards the entrance.

And that is the story of how, by the end of the day, Hina and Ibuki were banned from the lazy river.


	4. Kids (Miu x Kazuichi)

The sandbox was a lonely place on the playground. Souda knew it well. He was the only one who ever used it, since dirt was often mixed into the sand and anyone playing in it was liable to get their skin and clothes very dirty. It wasn't like his dad cared about that, though, so that's where he usually played. He was nothing but the black-haired loser of his class. He was better off without friends anyway.

The sandbox was his favorite place. His father wasn't there, nobody bothered him, and he could imagine he was a superhero, a pirate, or whatever he wanted to be. Especially when it wasn't himself.

He was eight when he met her. He thought everyone else had abandoned the sandbox long ago, but it seemed that she had just discovered it. And, if he was honest, he didn't want to approach her. He probably wouldn't have, either, if he hadn't noticed her crying.

"H-hey," he said, slowly stepping into the sandbox. The girl looked up at him, tears making clean tracks down her dirt-covered cheeks. "What's the matter?"

Instead of giving him a response, she turned her gaze away from him, her foot absently digging lines in the sand. For someone so young, probably a year or two younger than him, her curly blonde hair was nearly halfway down her back, a little tangled towards the ends. Souda nodded to himself a little, sitting down on the edge of the box. The girl must've noticed, because she shuffled away an inch, still not looking at him.

"Y'know, if you don't wanna talk, we can just play a bit," he suggested, digging in the sand with his hands until he uncovered the shovel he kept buried there. He pointed to the ground in front of her. "There's another one there if you want."

She made no attempt to retrieve the shovel until he looked away and started sifting through the sand himself, building one large pile. As soon as he'd looked away and focused on his project, he could hear the sand shifting near her. Soon enough, she was angrily digging up sand, making as deep of a pit as she could. The rest of the sand she merely tossed away, some not even landing in the sandbox. Souda watched her for a moment or two before returning to his own sand pile.

"How old are you? Shouldn't your parents be with you?" he couldn't help but ask, even though the same could be asked of him. He had a feeling that she wouldn't ask, though.

The girl stopped shoveling, looking at her hands for a moment before displaying six fingers. Quite a silent one, wasn't she? Only six, and yet she was wandering around alone, dirt streaked across her skin and clothes. He wondered what the story behind that could possibly be before deciding to himself that she escaped a bunch of aliens. That was the most logical explanation in his eight-year-old brain, of course.

"If you want to play with them, I buried a few other toys in the sandbox," he said, still focusing on his sand pile. "I don't mind if you use them." As expected, he didn't receive a verbal response, though she slid off of the edge and into the actual sandbox, digging in random places to try to find the toys. "My name is Kazuichi Souda, by the way. You can just call me Souda, though. What's your name?"

The girl kept digging through the sand before pointing in front of her. He leaned over to get a better look, seeing that she'd written her name in the sand in a messy scrawl. "M...i...u… Miu? Is that right?" She nodded, taking out a bucket from the hole she'd dug. "That's a nice name. It's nice to meet you." And, again, she ignored him, starting to fill the bucket. He shrugged and went back to his own project, doodling out some plans in the sand next to him.

Dusk came much sooner than he thought it would, and neither his parents nor Miu's came looking for either of them. Thankfully, though, nobody else had come by, either. Souda buried his shovel again, making sure to smooth out the sand on top. "Hey, Miu? I've gotta go home now." She looked up at him, her dull blue eyes curious. "You can keep playing if you want, just bury the toys again when you're done." He stood up, brushing the sand off of his clothes. "Take care, okay? Maybe I'll see you around again soon."

Miu stood up, dropping the shovel in her small hands. Being careful of the holes she dug, she stepped over to him so they were only inches apart. With a small, determined look on her face, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his cheek. And then, just as he was about to leave, he heard her small voice say, "Thank you."

The sandbox was a lonely place on the playground, but just this once Souda was glad he wasn't as lonely as before.


	5. Stargazing (Peko x Kaito)

"Peko. Hey, Peko!" Whoever was outside of her door was going to have to pay for waking her up at midnight when she should be sleeping, but she managed to make her way to her dorm's door anyway, slipping on her glasses as she opened her door.

"Kaito? What is it?" she asked, somewhat surprised at the sight of her underclassman, especially since he wasn't in pajamas like she was.

He grinned at her, somehow not even a bit tired- or maybe he was just good at hiding it. "Come on, we're going stargazing!" He looked at her like he expected some great reaction, but all he got was a blank stare. "Look, Shuichi and Kaede are already sleeping and Maki would kill me if I woke her up-"

"Brave of you to assume I wouldn't." Even so, she brushed past him and locked her door, her sword's bag already slung across her back. "Let's go, then."

She couldn't hear his footsteps for a few moments. "Whoa, I didn't think you'd actually accept!" He quickly ran up so he was walking beside her down the dorm hallways to the front corridor. "C'mon, the best spot is right out here."

He led her out a few meters from the school, spreading out his jacket on the slightly dewy grass and laying down on half of it. Peko just stood there and looked at him, confused as to what exactly he was doing. "Do I lay down as well?"

"Absolutely! Come on, my jacket is nice and comfy," he said, patting the spot next to him before gazing up at the clear night sky. Peko hesitated for a moment before laying down so a couple of inches separated them, barely on top of the jacket. Of course, Kaito noticed this immediately. "Come on, I don't bite!"

"F-fine." She inched a bit closer, still room between them but close enough where she could feel warmth radiating off of his skin. She looked up at the expansive night sky, the stars nearly dancing in her vision. "As the Ultimate Astronaut, I assume you know of all of the constellations and such up there."

She didn't need to look at him to know that Kaito was grinning. "Heck yeah I do! But just for tonight I'll spare you the science lesson." Silence fell upon them, the only sounds being the trees and the nocturnal creatures. "The stars sure are beautiful tonight."

"Mm." The breeze blew some of her loose hairs across her face, but she quickly brushed them out of her line of sight.

"You know what else is beautiful?"

Peko wasn't sure what she was expecting from Kaito, but she did know that Ibuki was a fan of this meme and therefore the usual ending of it. With a slight frown, she responded, "Who?"

He turned his head towards her, a goofy smile on his face. "You." Her face must've reddened considerably, because he laughed, noticeably softer than his usual boisterous laugh. "Peko, you don't get complimented much, do you?"

"That is none of your business," she said, hiding a yawn behind her hand. "I must give credit where credit is due; you caught me off-guard. It's not easy to do that."

"Believe me, I know. Are you getting tired, though? We can reschedule if you want," he said, raising himself on one elbow so he was facing her.

Peko mirrored him, fighting back another yawn. "I'm fine, but thank you for your concern." They stayed like that for a minute, staring at each other. "If I may ask, why invite me out here tonight?"

"Well, remember back during our sports festival when you said you didn't have experience with cheering on a sports team?" She nodded. "I thought that if you've never done that before, maybe you've never done other stuff like stargazing. So I've vowed to make it my duty to help you experience all of the crucial things you've missed out on!"

She was surprised at his passionate tone, but shook her head. Her years spent training to be her young master's tool may have left little time to socialize regularly, but she didn't feel as though she was missing anything. "You really don't need to do that. I am perfectly content the way I am."

Kaito's smile faded a bit. "You may be now, but you'll never know what you're missing if you don't try. 'Course, I can't force ya to do something you don't want to." His eyes shifted to the stars above them. "It's like… if you don't have something small you're working towards before your big goal, it'll seem like it's that much farther away. I know if I didn't have training every night with my sidekicks, I would only be focusing on going to space, and I would've wasted precious moments of my life ignoring everything else around me. So maybe, instead of focusing on whatever you want to do when you graduate, focus on the small things you can do now to have fun."

No response from her. Kaito glanced down, smiling tenderly when he saw her eyes closed, peacefully asleep. "The one time I have a deep talk with you, you fall asleep. I didn't even get to the best part yet." Still, he harbored no hard feelings and instead stood up, wrapping his jacket around her and picking her up carefully so as to not wake her. He looked at the stars one last time before heading for her dorm room.

His crush confession could wait for another night.


	6. Death (Sonia x Kyoko)

Sonia is very perceptive while running, so of course she notices a lot during gym class. Even though her class didn't have to participate, being the senior class, she enjoyed the chance to clear out her other thoughts and get in some exercise. She knew which activities everyone did, and she also knew who regularly skipped the class. Everyone always participated in something-

Except for Kyoko Kirigiri.

That girl was an enigma. She never spoke much to Sonia, no matter how many times she'd tried to make conversation. Sonia noticed that she didn't really participate in class except for running a couple of times a week, and yet managed to stay in peak physical condition. While she didn't seem like the friendliest person, that didn't stop Sonia from being intrigued by her and wanting to know more about her.

Over the last year or so, Sonia always noticed that Kyoko stayed a good amount away from the other students in her class, except for the few occasions where Makoto is able to get her involved in an activity. But, she figured that if Kyoko didn't want to offer any topics of conversation, that was her own business. It was rude to pry.

Gym was nice that day. Only Sonia, Peko, and Maki were on the track, so Sonia didn't have to stay confined to one lane like usual. And, as usual, Kyoko sat on the side of the track, right under a shady tree, watching as they ran by. It was pretty normal, the way it should be.

"What did Kokichi do this time?" Sonia heard Maki mutter from beside her, slowing down to look over across the track. Sonia slowed down to a near stop as well, watching Headmaster Kirigiri crossing the track. This wouldn't be the first time he entered the gym area to take one of the troublemakers (usually Kokichi or Miu) to his office, but strangely enough, he avoided their ultimate frisbee game and headed towards the tree Kyoko was under.

Sonia stepped out of Peko and Maki's way, interested in the unfolding events. Headmaster Kirigiri looked more worn than she remembered, and he spoke for barely a second before Kyoko stood up and walked out after him. She could only imagine what he needed her help with, especially since she knew of their shaky relationship- everyone in the school did, regardless of whether or not they should.

"Sonia, I believe you should get back to running before the teacher sees you standing there," Peko said, already another lap in. Sonia hadn't even noticed that she was still staring at the entrance to the school the Headmaster and Kyoko went through.

"Right! My apologies!" she said, immediately going back into an easy jog to warm back up. Chances were they were simply discussing a new case she had to miss school for- a common occurrence, to her understanding. Still, something felt… off about this. But, as always, running cleared her mind of any lingering thoughts, allowing her to forget the event ever occurred, if only for a few minutes.

X-X-X

It was almost nine o'clock at night when Sonia heard a knock at her door. She had a habit of becoming lost in a book before nighttime, thus not answering her phone, so perhaps one of her friends needed something and decided to come to her room instead. It wouldn't be the first time that happened.

So she walked across her room, her loose pajama pants brushing against her calves as she went, and opened her door, somewhat surprised to find Kyoko standing on the other side. She, too, was in pajamas, but her leather jacket was still pulled tight around her shoulders. Upon first glance, her skin seemed much paler than usual, even paler than Sonia's fair complexion. "May I come in?" she asked, not meeting Sonia's eyes.

"Of course," Sonia said, stepping aside to let Kyoko enter. "Please, make yourself at home." Kyoko nodded at her as she brushed past, taking a seat on the edge of Sonia's bed. Sonia sat down next to her, wondering why, exactly, Kyoko decided to come so late at night.

They were silent for a long time before Kyoko decided to start talking. "I remember you saying when you first met our class that we should feel free to talk to you whenever we needed to." And that was, indeed, the case. Sonia had felt that being open to talk to the students in the class below hers was a good way to establish an opening for possible friendships. It worked, too; many of the people in the lower classes had approached her with something they needed to talk about, and they eventually became friends.

"That's correct," Sonia said with a gentle, inviting smile. "I assume that's why you came? I won't pry, though. You may begin speaking whenever you need to."

"Thank you." Silence fell upon them once more as Kyoko hesitated to speak. Her gloved hands cupped her elbows, her ever-present braid nearly undone in a messy manner. After what felt like hours- not that Sonia minded- Kyoko took a deep breath and spoke. "My grandfather passed earlier today."

Sonia gasped silently, understanding swelling within her. "I'm so sorry, Kyoko," she breathed out, her smile completely gone.

Kyoko put a hand up to stop her. "I appreciate it, but I did not come for pity. I… want to talk about it, and do not wish to bother any of my classmates. I've never been close to any of them, save for Makoto, and I remembered your offer to talk." She stood suddenly. "Maybe I shouldn't have bothered you with this either-"

"No! Kyoko, it's not healthy to not talk to anyone about this. Please, sit back down," Sonia said, allowing just a touch of her tone to be commanding enough for Kyoko to listen. Kyoko looked towards the door, but eventually sat back down, a bit of her composure crumbling. "I assume this is why your father took you out of gym class?"

"That's right. The hospital called him earlier- it seems that he had a heart attack while doing paperwork this morning, and was not able to get help as early as he needed." Sonia wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a bit of remorse in Kyoko's usually calm voice. "I wanted to go right away, but my father thought that was unwise. I also have to cancel my next couple of investigations, as per his request. The last time something happened to someone I was attached to, I had to pay a large price for it. I'm sure that my father is afraid of what might happen if I went on an investigation weighed down with grief."

Sonia could understand that; she was the same way when her parents went to an international meeting with hostile parties attending. She always made sure they were perfectly content so they would not lose sight of their surroundings and could therefore stay safe.

"You must have been very close with your grandfather," Sonia observed, thinking to what little she knew about Kyoko. "He raised you, correct?"

Kyoko nodded, shifting a bit. "He did. He taught me just about everything I know about being a detective, including how to keep my emotions concealed so I am not easily manipulated. Everything was always second to detective work when I was with him, and even though he didn't fully understand it, he did support my decision to come here."

She closed her eyes, and Sonia watched as a single tear fell down her cheek. Sonia didn't know what came over her, but she reached out a hand and wiped the tear away. Before she knew it, Kyoko leaned into her touch and wrapped her arms around Sonia's shoulders. "It's okay," Sonia whispered, feeling dampness where Kyoko must've been crying. "It's okay to let others see your feelings. That way we can help." She vaguely recalled a conversation she overheard Makoto have with Asahina a while back, recounting how Kyoko seemed to dislike physical contact more than most.

"I didn't say goodbye to him," Kyoko whispered into Sonia's shoulder, and she could hear the self-hatred in her voice. "I didn't tell him I loved him one last time." Even sad- and likely angry- Kyoko managed to stay almost completely still and calm.

Sonia rubbed her back gently. "I'm sure he knew. He had you as an amazing granddaughter, there was no way he didn't know that you love him." She pulled away a small amount, looking into Kyoko's lavender eyes. "Listen, I can't pretend to know what you're going through, but please, let me know if I can help in any way, and I will do my best."

Kyoko nodded, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes to rid them of the rest of her tears. "Thank you, Sonia. You are a great help." She glanced at the clock. "Already nine-thirty. I should let you finish preparing for bed." She stood, Sonia standing with her. She looked like she was going to leave immediately, but turned her head once more. "If it isn't too much to request… we don't know each other too well, so I don't see any reason why you would accept, but…" Taking a deep breath, she finally asked, "Would you mind my talking to you more frequently? I already feel more acquainted with you than the majority of my classmates."

"Of course," Sonia agreed immediately. "I am honored that you trust me already, Kyoko."

"You have proven yourself multiple times over in aiding my classmates as well as your own," Kyoko pointed out, allowing her frown to lessen a bit- not quite a smile, but the closest Sonia assumed it was going to be for a while. "I'm glad I decided to trust you with this information. Goodnight." And, just as she arrived, she exited the room, leaving Sonia staring at her back.

It was unfortunate circumstances that brought them together, but Sonia hoped that the trust Kyoko placed in her could soon blossom into friendship. For now, all Sonia could do is be there when Kyoko needs her, all the support Kyoko could ever need. And she was perfectly content with providing that.


	7. Wedding (Mahiru x Tenko)

Weddings with head-banging music at the reception aren't totally common, but that's where Tenko met Mahiru, so it was fine by her. She was surprised that she'd find love in anyone at Angie's wedding, but maybe it was written in the stars.

Of course, it didn't start off that way. No, Tenko was hesitant to be in the wedding at all, especially considering all of the little tiffs she and Angie had gotten into back when they were in high school, but Angie wanted her to be one of her bridesmaids, and she couldn't exactly say no to that.

The red-haired girl was taking pictures of everything when she arrived, tugging down the skirt of her pale green dress and hoping her hair didn't look awful. Kaede and Himiko had yet to arrive- in fact, nobody that had been in her class was there yet, which drastically cut down the number of people she knew. She'd met Angie's fiancee Ibuki a couple of times, of course, as well as a few of her friends, but she didn't know them very well.

"Smile!" Tenko nearly jumped at the surprise flash, but she couldn't do much in two-inch heels (which she protested against wearing for that exact reason). The red-haired girl had somehow snuck up on her while she was thinking. She smiled at Tenko. "Sorry, you looked so nice and calm I couldn't help but take a picture. Are you part of the wedding party?"

"No, that's okay," Tenko said, finally relaxing her posture. "And yes, I'm one of Angie's bridesmaids. My name is Tenko Chabashira."

The photographer nodded and smiled some more. She sure seemed to smile a lot, didn't she? "Nice to meet you! I'm Mahiru Koizumi, I went to high school with Ibuki." Mahiru looked around a bit before pointing over to a group of three girls, all of whom were talking animatedly with each other in dresses matching the style of Tenko's. "Those are Ibuki's bridesmaids, Hiyoko, Chiaki, and Mikan. We were all wonderful friends in school."

Tenko nodded, stuck between joining them and staying where she was. "Should I go join them, or…?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Mahiru said with a laugh in her voice. "If you want, you can help me take some pictures. That way you kind of get to meet everyone, too."

"That'd be nice, thanks."

X-X-X

The wedding reception was not one of the loudest parties Mahiru had ever attended, but most of that was because, after taking as many pictures of the happy couple and the celebrators, she'd escaped outside to take some pictures of the landscape. While she preferred taking pictures of people mostly, some variance is still nice- especially since the music was beginning to give her a headache.

"I thought I'd find you out here." Mahiru turned to see Tenko come outside, remnants of the music clinging to her before the door shut. "It's nice and quiet out here, isn't it? I'm not used to such loud music…"

Mahiru laughed, remembering what Tenko had told her about Kaede earlier. "Having a pianist in your class must be so different than having someone with Ibuki's taste in music in it," she remarked, taking a picture from outside looking into the building. Some colored lights spilled out through the window, staining the ground and their feet. "Looks like you ditched your heels."

Tenko glanced down, a soft grin coming onto her face. "Yeah, I'm not used to wearing heels at all. As a Neo-Aikido master, I need to wear shoes I can actually move in! Or, in this case, no shoes at all."

"Well, I'm not judging. I'm glad that, as the wedding photographer, I could wear whatever shoes I wanted." Which meant flats with memory foam inserts. Hiyoko and Chiaki were so jealous. She looked inside for a long moment, catching glimpses of her old classmates and other people she either knew very little about or didn't know. "Isn't it nice how weddings bring people together? I mean, look at us two. I don't think we'd ever have met if it wasn't for Ibuki and Angie."

After a moment of thought, Tenko nodded. "We shouldn't waste this opportunity, then. We should stay in touch after tonight, don't you think?"

Mahiru's eyes widened a touch of their own accord. Was Tenko… flirting with her? Not that she would be opposed to it- "Yes," she said before she could think about it any more than she needed to. "That sounds like a great idea."

X-X-X

"And I'll bet that if you told Mahiru she'd meet the love of her life that night, she wouldn't have believed you," Hiyoko recounted happily into the microphone. "So let's all raise a glass to Mahiru and Tenko, for many great years to come!"

Tenko looked around the room, all of the people she loved gathered in one place, all of them toasting to her and Mahiru. Mahiru's hand managed to sneak its way into her own as they raised their own glasses and drank, the largest smiles on their faces.

They'd met at a wedding three years ago, and now they were having one of their own. Only this time, there were no high heels and no loud music- at least until Ibuki hijacked the deejay's stand. But that was okay, because they had each other.


End file.
